On Friday gold was softer near $975 as traders became concerned about the possible data on employment. As it was reported on Thursday gold rose around 2% after Goldman Sachs raised its forecast for oil prices at the end of 2009 to $85 a barrel from $65, triggering inflation-hedge buying of gold.
"I think there's a sense of caution in the market as gold nears the $1,000 mark," said Shuji Sugata, a manager at Mitsubishi Corp Futures & Securities in Tokyo.
Gold was at $977.60 per ounce at 0520 GMT, down 0.2 percent from New York's notional close of $979.10. U.S. gold futures for August delivery GCQ9 were at $979.10 per ounce, down 0.3 percent.
In other closely followed data, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust GLD, said holdings remained at 1,132.50 tonnes as of June 4, unchanged from the previous business day. Holdings remain within sight of the record high of 1,134.03 tonnes marked on June 1, however.
Changes in gold ETF holdings are closely watched by market participants because sharp inflows into them could be a bullish signal that longer-term retail investors are entering the market.
Precious metals prices at 0525 GMT:
Metal | Last Change | Change | % change | YTD % change | Turnover |
Spot Gold | 977.30 | -1.80 | -0.18 | 11.04 | |
Spot Silver | 15.78 | -0.07 | -0.44 | 39.40 | |
Spot Platinum | 1271.50 | -19.00 | -1.47 | 36.43 | |
Spot Palladium | 251.00 | -1.50 | -0.59 | 36.04 | |
TOCOM Gold | 3053.00 | 47.00 | +1.56 | 18.66 | 43435 |
TOCOM Platinum | 3976.00 | 129.00 | +3.35 | 49.92 | 23220 |
TOCOM Silver | 489.50 | 15.80 | +3.34 | 53.30 | 590 |
TOCOM Palladium | 790.00 | 29.00 | +3.81 | 43.64 | 814 |
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.